urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric - Tags - network Thoughts and opinions on the growing area of System Networking. Learn how the data center network is enabling the next generation of applications.72013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00IBM Connections - Blogsurn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-73a8d6a8-c031-40ba-aa37-d2280dab7fd4IBM System Networking Wins Golden Bridge Award for Business InnovationVikram Mehta, VP System Networkingvikrammehta_STG@us.ibm.com2700045AWFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-10-29T12:30:00-04:002012-11-12T12:15:48-05:00<div> </div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b> IBM System Networking Wins Golden Bridge Award for Business Innovation </b></p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div>
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<p align="left"><br><b><span></span></b></p><p align="left">I am delighted to report that IBM received the <a href="http://www.goldenbridgeawards.com/">4th Annual Golden Bridge Award</a> for Business Innovation. The award was given for System Networking’s <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/switches/rack/g8264/">IBM RackSwitch G8264</a> with OpenFlow. IBM is leading the<a '="" href="https://www-304.ibm.com/connections/blogs/VMstg/resource/BLOGS_UPLOADED_IMAGES/GoldenAward.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="image" src="https://www-304.ibm.com/connections/blogs/VMstg/resource/BLOGS_UPLOADED_IMAGES/GoldenAward.gif" style="display: block; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt 1em; float: right; position: relative; width: 201px; height: 259px;"></a> way in driving one of the foremost innovations in business technology -- <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/solutions/sdn.html">Software Defined Networking (SDN)</a>. IBM is one of the first vendors to implement a new data center networking protocol known as OpenFlow for the enterprise. Software Defined Networking using OpenFlow has been standardized through the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) with the collaboration of global network and cloud operators, universities and research labs, and led by IBM and other industry leaders. </p><div>&nbsp;</div><div>SDN enables the separation of network intelligence from the underlying network hardware -- using interoperable software to make the system network more agile, optimized and responsive. The IBM RackSwitch G8264 with OpenFlow supports the rise of Big Data, in which applications, workloads and systems are continuously generating vast amounts of information. Today’s networks are based on hardware, and thus can be too static to support today’s torrent of information. Software Defined Networking promises innovations to turn today’s networks into programmable infrastructure with the flexibility of today’s computers. </div><div> </div><div> </div>
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<div>&nbsp;</div><div>With the new <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/pnc/">IBM Programmable Network Controller</a> and OpenFlow-enabled RackSwitch G8264, IBM is one of a very few vendors to offer a complete SDN solution. IBM’s SDN solution is enabling greater control over data center infrastructures. This enables data center and network operators to employ a software-defined network fabric with workload-prioritized performance, optimized quality of service and pattern-based system integration.
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<div>&nbsp;</div><div>Congratulations are in order to everyone on the IBM System Networking team who work so hard to deliver innovation every day for the world’s most demanding clients.</div><div> </div><div> </div>
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<p align="”left”"> For more information about the IBM RackSwitch G8264, OpenFlow, Software Defined Networking and the coming new breed of Virtual Application Networks (VANs), please see:
</p><div><ul><li><a href="/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=SA&amp;subtype=WH&amp;htmlfid=QCW03014USEN&amp;attachment=QCW03014USEN.PDF&amp;appname=STGE_QC_AA_USEN_WH">IBM System Networking for optimized workloads, big data and Cloud White Pape</a>r</li><li><a href="/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=SA&amp;subtype=WH&amp;htmlfid=QCW03010USEN&amp;attachment=QCW03010USEN.PDF&amp;appname=STGE_QC_AA_USEN_WH">OpenFlow: The next generation in networking interoperability White Paper</a></li><li><a href="http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts/tips0815.html?Open">OpenFlow-enabled IBM RackSwitchG8264 Product Guide</a></li></ul><br></div><div> </div><div> </div>
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IBM System Networking Wins Golden Bridge Award for Business Innovation &nbsp;
I am delighted to report that IBM received the 4th Annual Golden Bridge Award for Business Innovation. The award was given for System Networking’s IBM RackSwitch G8264 with...003246urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric2013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-05fc11ef-7677-4457-bd1d-2e427fe2124aIBM delivers smarter virtual networks with new OpenFlow controllerVikram Mehta, VP System Networkingvikrammehta_STG@us.ibm.com2700045AWFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-10-03T12:30:00-04:002012-10-03T15:14:57-04:00<div> </div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b> IBM delivers smarter virtual networks with new OpenFlow controller</b></p><div> </div>
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<p align="left">&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><p align="left">Industry pundits are calling software defined networking the most exciting and disruptive enterprise networking technology in decades. With the <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/">announcement</a> of the <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/software/pnc/" style="font-weight: bold;">new IBM System Networking Programmable Network Controller</a>, IBM now provides a complete OpenFlow solution (the new controller plus IBM switch).</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div> </div>
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<p align="left">Just as IBM was first to market with a 10/40GbE OpenFlow-enabled switch, IBM is now leading the market with a complete <a href="/jct03001c/systems/networking/solutions/sdn.html">SDN OpenFlow solution</a> for the agile data center. By aggressively adopting, and contributing to, this new design paradigm, IBM is again demonstrating its commitment to innovation in order to meet and exceed customers’ needs for increased IT and business efficiency, competitiveness and creativity.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div> </div>
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<p align="left">As one of the few Tier 1 vendors with any kind of SDN solution, we’re very excited to bring this complete solution to companies and organizations worldwide. And, to demonstrate IBM’s commitment to IT and business innovation.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div> </div>
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<p align="left">IBM’s new software defined networking (SDN) controller is an addition to our enterprise networking portfolio. It provides intelligent software using the OpenFlow standard for the <a href="/jct03001c/systems/networking/switches/rack.html">IBM RackSwitch G8264</a> and other OpenFlow-enabled switches. Using OpenFlow, our clients can create virtual networks with the scalability and flexibility required to respond to changes in cloud and mobile services environments.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div> </div>
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<p align="left">Customers tell us that IBM’s commitment to interoperability and standards enables them to significantly reduce cost and time-to-value by increasing their networking intelligence. Now that SDN and OpenFlow are not just for research institutions anymore; financial services, software companies, cloud providers and web enterprises are increasingly adopting these new technologies to increase performance and user control.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><p align="left">Listening to what customers need, we’ve designed our new controller to dramatically simplify what is a very complex and expensive management task today. It also allows enterprise data centers to: </p><ul><li>Squeeze out costs from network administration. </li><li>Mitigate business risk with flexible controls and management of network flows based on business policy. </li><li>Deploy a “pay as you grow” scalable fabric that can be cost-effectively implemented with immediate benefits, accelerating time-to-market. </li><li>Use all resources efficiently.</li></ul><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The controller’s technical advantages include: </div><div> </div><div> </div>
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<ul><li>An OpenFlow-based network fabric with centralized control of network flows and virtual machine mobility, simplifying management. </li><li>Increase in operational efficiency by automating network changes rather than requiring an admin to make CLI changes. </li><li>Ability to transform traditional networking into an open, flexible model, dramatically increasing business agility and resource productivity while reducing costs. </li><li>A pay-as-you-grow option allowing new applications or growth to leverage the advantages of IBM’s Programmable Network Controller </li><li>Ideal solution for multi-tenant environments and those where business continuity is critical. </li><li>A resilient network for self-healing after an outage.</li></ul><div>&nbsp;</div><div>SDN and virtual networks are opening a new world of possibilities - what new or improved capabilities and services do you see SDN and OpenFlow providing?
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IBM delivers smarter virtual networks with new OpenFlow controller
&nbsp; &nbsp; Industry pundits are calling software defined networking the most exciting and disruptive enterprise networking technology in decades. With the announcement of the...004759urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric2013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-2f034548-a730-48cf-8e57-8c307e375e52IBM System Networking Sets the Pace with Standards-Based Network Virtualization AutomationVikram Mehta, VP System Networkingvikrammehta_STG@us.ibm.com2700045AWFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-03-20T12:00:00-04:002012-03-20T12:00:00-04:00<div> </div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b> IBM System Networking Sets the Pace with Standards-Based Network Virtualization Automation</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br><b><span></span></b></p><div> </div>
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<p align="left"> With the vast majority of IT organizations now implementing virtualization, clients are seeking to dramatically reduce cost and complexity in highly virtualized data centers. In today’s data center environments, server virtualization is managed separately from physical servers, requiring the collaboration of server, network, storage, and security administrators. Data center managers are seeking a consistent networking environment across virtual and physical environments, so that virtual and physical servers can use the same configurations, policies and management tools. Network policies should migrate automatically along with mobile virtual machines to ensure that security, performance and access remains intact as virtual machines move from server to server.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div>
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<p align="left"> To extend IBM’s industry-leading innovation in network virtualization management and automation, I am happy to report that <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/networking/">IBM System Networking</a> has delivered the new IBM Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) 5000V to solve these emerging client needsUsing this server-based technology, clients can implement standards-based network virtualization in today’s I/O-intensive virtual switch environments. Using IBM’s innovative <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/networking/switches/virtual/dvs5000v/index.html">VMready</a> virtualization-aware networking on the <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/networking/switches/rack.html">IBM RackSwitch</a> and <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/networking/switches/bladecenter.html">BladeCenter switches</a> along with the IBM DVS 5000V as the virtual switch in VMware environments, clients can radically simplify and automate virtualization management. VMready works with all the major hypervisors and supports the IEEE 802.1Qbg standard for automating Virtual Machine mobility. VMware clients can further optimize and automate virtualization management with more advanced capabilities using the new IBM Distributed Virtual Switch 5000V. </p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div>
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<p align="”left”"> Key aspects of our new IBM Distributed Virtual Switch 5000V include: </p><p align="”left”">• Large-scale server virtualization by providing enterprise-level switch functionality in the hypervisor </p><p align="”left”">• Advanced networking features not available through base vSwitch </p><p align="”left”">• Mobility of VM security and network properties </p><p align="”left”">• 802.1Qbg standards-based unified management of VM network policies across the virtual and physical network </p><p align="”left”">• Network administrators can manage and provision network settings at the virtual machine level </p><p align="”left”">• Flexible and scalable to a large number of ports
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<p align="left"> The IBM System Networking Distributed Virtual Switch 5000V is an advanced, feature-rich distributed virtual switch for VMware environments with policy-based virtual machine (VM) connectivity. It enables network administrators familiar with IBM System Networking switches to manage the IBM DVS 5000V just like IBM physical switches using advanced networking, troubleshooting and management features so the virtual switch is no longer hidden and difficult to manage.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div> </div>
<p align="left"> Support for Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) based on the IEEE 802.1Qbg standard enables scalable, flexible management of networking configuration and policy requirements per VM and eliminates many of the networking challenges introduced with server virtualization. The IBM DVS 5000V works with VMware vSphere 5.0 and beyond and interoperates with any 802.1Qbg-compliant physical switch to enable switching of local VM traffic in the hypervisor or in the upstream physical switch.
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<p left="" align="left With many of our client’s data center now massively virtualized, the time has come for the network to keep pace with the essential virtualization management and automation capabilities required for today’s massive amounts of east-west network traffic generated by machine-to-machine workloads and highly virtualized infrastructures. IBM is extending its leadership position in this endeavor as proven by our innovative VMready and now advanced by our new DVS 5000V. Look for IBM’s leadership in this key area to continue.
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&lt;p align="> Do you see your clients’ initiatives to implement massively virtualized infrastructures requiring a new level of network virtualization automation and management? Do you see standards-based networking as a key enabler for their next-generation network topologies?
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IBM System Networking Sets the Pace with Standards-Based Network Virtualization Automation
With the vast majority of IT organizations now implementing virtualization, clients are seeking to dramatically reduce cost and complexity in highly virtualized...003368urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric2013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-4ee7bb66-6ba1-4eb9-bacf-7e964d786f71IBM System Networking on TrackVikram Mehta, VP System Networkingvikrammehta_STG@us.ibm.com2700045AWFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2011-11-01T20:10:57-04:002011-11-01T20:10:57-04:00<p style="text-align: center;"><b> IBM System Networking on Track</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br><span> </span></b></p>
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<p> As we pass the one-year anniversary of IBM’s acquisition of BLADE Network Technologies, I am pleased to report that IBM System Networking is on track in our focus to deliver “Smarter Networking for Smarter Data Centers.” We have exceeded our business objectives across the past four quarters, delivered an enhanced and expanded portfolio of data center networking solutions, and are succeeding in our goal to bring intelligence and speed to the essential access, distribution and aggregation layers where server and storage systems are connected to the data center network.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="left"> Gartner’s recent report: <a href="http://www.gartner.com/reprints?id=1-17RXG9D&amp;ct=111025&amp;st=sb">“Competitive Landscape: Data Center Ethernet Switches, Worldwide, 2011 Update”</a> validates our growing market impact. Gartner places IBM System Networking as the number-two vendor in the data center networking market that has grown to $6.1 billion and 22.5 million ports.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="left"> Gartner reports that users now recognize the need for a "significantly new type of Ethernet switch for their data centers. As more and more data centers are affected by trends like consolidation, virtualization and automation, this has given rise to a set of new problems that network managers have to address.” As a result, Gartner asserts that data center networking must address: </p><p align="left">• Growing east-west network traffic </p><p align="left">• Growing need for 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches at every layer of the data center network </p><p align="left">• Redundant design at various levels of the network
• Flat topologies to bring down the number of hops and reduce network latency </p><p align="left">• Effectively providing interconnects and network services like security authentication, load balancing/failover, virtual LAN (VLAN) administration and traffic shaping to virtual machines. </p><p align="left">• Overcoming the topological, failover and scalability limits imposed by spanning tree protocol (STP) </p><p align="left">• Low power consumption with front to rear airflow design.
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<div>&nbsp;</div><p align="”left”"> <a href="http://www.ibm.com/networking">IBM System Networking</a> delivers across all these requirements, which is why we are playing a leadership role in the data center networking market. Clients who deploy Smarter Computing using IBM System Networking solutions realize improved economics, better network performance, lower latency, less complexity, greater energy efficiency and streamlined management. These advantages become paramount as clients deploy a new class of switches specifically designed for the data center in ever-growing numbers.</p>
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IBM System Networking on Track
As we pass the one-year anniversary of IBM’s acquisition of BLADE Network Technologies, I am pleased to report that IBM System Networking is on track in our focus to deliver “Smarter Networking for Smarter Data Centers.”...004343urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric2013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-e9511226-028c-46aa-aa30-4ca2e2b861a5What Makes A Good Network Fabric?Vikram Mehta, VP System Networkingvikrammehta_STG@us.ibm.com2700045AWFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2011-10-24T10:30:00-04:002011-10-24T16:54:52-04:00<p style="text-align: center;"><b> What Makes A Good Network Fabric?</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br><span> </span></b></p>
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<p> As I wrote in my earlier blog post, the data center network is going through a major transformation to support server virtualization and cloud computing, convergence of data storage, application-to-application traffic and new high-performance applications. To address these needs, the data center network fabric, the system network architecture that interconnects server devices and storage devices in a data center environment, has become a critical lynchpin of data center architecture. I am frequently asked the question, “What makes a good network fabric?” The term “fabric” has nearly as many definitions and permutations as “cloud,” so I would like to suggest the top 10 attributes that a data center network fabric should possess.
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<ol><li> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Open and Interoperable</span> – Modern data center networking is best accomplished when it is standards-based, when multiple vendors equipment can co-exist and interoperate, and clients can choose between multiple vendors’ wares without paying a pricing penalty or needing to rip-and-replace to meet growth needs and implement next-generation approaches. Standards-based Ethernet is a fabric essential. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">High Speed</span> – To meet the performance needs of big data, cloud computing and workload-optimized systems, data centers are increasingly implementing 10 Gigabit Ethernet on the server and in the access and aggregation layers, which is driving interest in 40 Gigabit Ethernet with 100 Gigabit Ethernet on the horizon. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Low Latency</span> - Applications such as high-frequency trading require the lowest possible latency. The race to zero latency is enabled by ultra-low-latency switches that deterministic with the same connection speeds across every port combination. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Loss-less</span> – To meet the needs of machine-to-machine applications and converged data and storage networking, Ethernet networks must be loss-less. Network equipment supports the Data Center Bridging (DCB) standards to ensure loss-less operation. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flat</span> – Clos and fat tree network designs are becoming increasingly prevalent for the flow-based, non-blocking, shortest path network fabrics required in highly virtualized and cloud data centers and for converged data and storage traffic. With standards such as Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) and Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) on the horizon and other alternatives for flat networks requiring proprietary implementations, network architects favor existing approaches to meshed networking such as Virtual Link Aggregation (vLAG) to maximize network efficiency, reduce congestion and address Spanning Tree limitations by creating active/active Layer 2 network paths for load balancing and redundancy. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Virtualization Aware</span> – To ensure that network security, performance and access policies move dynamically when live virtual machines migrate from server to server anywhere in the virtualized data center or private cloud, the Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) 802.1Qbg standard specifies the interaction between virtual switching environments in a hypervisor and the first layer of the physical switching infrastructure. The EVB 802.1Qbg standard addresses the conventional vSwitch’s lack of network management, monitoring and security. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scalable</span> – Linearly scalable is a requisite of network fabric design, which can be achieved by non-blocking, non-oversubscribed topologies implemented using top-of-rack switches. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">User Control </span>– The emerging OpenFlow specification enables network infrastructure providers to deliver open virtual networking systems that that are easy for users to control, optimize performance dynamically and minimize complexity. OpenFlow-based networks enable the network administrator to easily configure and manage virtual networks that control traffic on a per-flow basis. The administrator can easily program an OpenFlow controller to create or delete multiple independent virtual networks and related policies that span the system network without having to deal with the complexities of the underlying physical network and protocol details. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Unified Management</span> – Network devices that make up the fabric should be managed, configured and provisioned as if they were a single logical device, including the ability to can track virtual machines by switch or IP address, and pre-provision network characteristics for VMs. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Low Lifecycle Costs</span> – And finally, per-switch costs should be affordable so networks can scale on an incremental basis, the need for expensive chassis switches should be minimized, and low power requirements and cooling efficiencies should enable low energy costs particularly for massive networks fabrics that interconnect thousands of server and storage systems.
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<p align="left"> We have designed IBM System Networking’s <a href="/jct03001c/systems/networking/solutions/unified_fabricarchitecture.html">Unified Fabric Architecture</a>, our fast, smart, interoperable and proven data center Ethernet network fabric, to deliver across all 10 of these attributes. Unified Fabric Architecture along with the ability to replicate pre-provisioned racks and integrated systems, enables clients that have already invested billions of dollars in their data centers to take advantage of the best innovations in the industry and achieve the lowest possible cost of ownership for their IT infrastructure. </p>
What Makes A Good Network Fabric?
As I wrote in my earlier blog post, the data center network is going through a major transformation to support server virtualization and cloud computing, convergence of data storage, application-to-application traffic...005339urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric2013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-9d2eafdf-1024-4ae2-bdeb-e6ece4e84795The Transformation of the Data Center NetworkVikram Mehta, VP System Networkingvikrammehta_STG@us.ibm.com2700045AWFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2011-08-23T20:41:00-04:002011-08-25T21:10:10-04:00<div>&nbsp;</div><p style="text-align: center;"><b> The Transformation of the Data Center Network <br></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br><span> </span></b></p>
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<p> Recently, I joined the other networking industry executives in <a href="http://solutioncenters.networkworld.com/data_center_challenge/">Network World’s Data Center Switching Challenge Series</a>. Host Robin Layland points out that the data center network is undergoing a major transformation as server virtualization, intense storage growth and the increase in east-west traffic – application-to-application and application-to-storage traffic – are placing new demands on the data center networking infrastructure. Layland asserts that to accommodate these changes, data centers must become more cloud-like. That requires running a new Ethernet fabric – a high-throughput, self-configuring, low-latency and self-healing data center network that automatically forwards traffic over the shortest available path. I couldn’t agree more.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="left"> Certainly, new technology innovations including the transformation of the data center network, signal that we are entering a new era of computing that IBM calls Smarter Computing. At <a href="/jct03001c/systems/networking/">IBM System Networking</a>, we believe that Smarter Computing can be achieved by connecting servers and storage with a high-speed and intelligent network fabric that is faster, greener, open and easy to manage. In Round One of the Challenge, I describe how evolving to these next-generation data centers, requires organizations to scale their infrastructures while minimizing complexity, achieving virtualization and consolidation with the quality of service required for production application workloads and successfully merging data and storage into a single network.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="left"> As organizations drive to transform and virtualize their IT infrastructures to reduce costs and manage risk, networking is pivotal to success. Optimizing network performance, availability, adaptability, security, and cost is essential to achieving the maximum benefit from the data center infrastructure. This in turn addresses CIOs’ key issues, including scalability, density, simplicity, utilization, security, analytics and total cost of ownership.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="”left”"> The value proposition for IBM System Networking is to provide the essential data and storage networking solutions under the IBM brand to connect servers to servers, servers to storage and storage to storage. Clients seeking more efficient data centers with the greatest business value and lowest total cost of ownership for their data center networks can implement an open, standards-based approach to simplify management, flatten and converge the network and optimize and automation virtualization.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="”left”"> In Round Two of the Challenge, Robin and I take a deeper look into the requirements for the data center network fabric in a brief podcast. The best way to look at the attributes of a data center fabric is what we call the four “L’s”. It’s got to be lossless. It’s got to be low latency. It’s got to consume low power and it’s got to have a very low cost of acquisition and operation. These are the essential attributes of a data center interconnect fabric. The problems on a large scale that this sort of a data center fabric is trying to solve are, first and foremost, to help clients scale their infrastructure. Second, to allow clients to increase the density of clients and storage per square foot of raised floor. Third, to make it incredibly simple to provision and manage data center infrastructure. Fourth, to enhance the security of the IT infrastructure. Fifth, to aid in the process of better analytics of a corporation’s information and data repositories. Sixth, to maximize the utilization of the IT infrastructure through technologies like virtualization, and finally, to lower the total cost of ownership of IT infrastructure.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="”left”"> Network World’s Data Center Switching Challenge is a great place to start when you are evaluating your data center networking needs and how leading vendors are taking new and innovative approaches to address next-generation requirements.</p>
&nbsp; The Transformation of the Data Center Network
Recently, I joined the other networking industry executives in Network World’s Data Center Switching Challenge Series . Host Robin Layland points out that the data center network is undergoing a...003665urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric2013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-ae83b627-8a93-49f6-8170-bf412e681536IBM Introduces High-Performance Storage Area Networking for Cloud and Virtualized Data CentersVikram Mehta, VP System Networkingvikrammehta_STG@us.ibm.com2700045AWFactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2011-08-16T20:16:20-04:002011-08-16T20:30:22-04:00<p style="text-align: center;"><b> IBM Introduces High-Performance Storage Area Networking for Cloud and Virtualized Data Centers</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br><span> </span></b></p>
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<p> IBM System Networking offers a wide portfolio of smarter networking solutions for next-generation data center solutions, including Ethernet and Fibre Channel. Today, we’re pleased to announce the availability of new, high-performance 16Gbps Fibre Channel storage area networking (SAN) solutions for cloud and virtualized data centers. </p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="left"> This new high-performance Fibre Channel fabric platform implements smarter private cloud computing for today’s most popular virtualized storage environments. With these new 16 Gbps SAN solutions from IBM, clients can unleash the full potential of private cloud storage with improved scalability, performance and reliability, reduced network complexity and costs and centralized management.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="left"> Our next-generation <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/">IBM System Networking</a> products are designed to help enterprise clients migrate smoothly to private cloud architectures through faster data transfers, fewer links needed to accomplish the same task and fewer devices managed overall, with energy consumption seven times more efficient than competitive solutions.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="”left”"> In addition to high performance and ease of management, <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/san/?cm_re=masthead-_-products-_-stg-san">IBM System Networking’s new smarter SAN networking solutions</a> also address one of the biggest needs in today’s data centers – the push to provide standards-based solutions that are fast, truly interoperable and efficient. As demand for highly virtualized infrastructures increases, and public, private and hybrid clouds become increasingly popular, the new IBM solutions will consolidate and lower expenses around servers and storage deployments while accelerating and streamlining SAN backbones and switching platforms to accelerate access to the cloud. </p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="”left”"> IBM’s new 16 Gbps Fibre Channel SAN solutions are orchestrated with leading IBM products, including IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center and IBM Systems Director. The portfolio includes: </p><ul><li>Our new <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/san/b-type/san768b-2/index.html">IBM® System Storage® SAN768B-2 and SAN384B-2</a> fabric backbones are among the industry's newest Fibre Channel switching infrastructure, providing reliable, scalable, high-performance foundations for private cloud storage and highly virtualized environments. These new backbones enable simpler, flatter, low-latency chassis connectivity to reduce network complexity, management and costs. </li><li>The <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/san/b-type/san48b-5/index.html">IBM® System Storage® SAN48B-5 SAN</a> switch is designed to meet the demands of hyper-scale, private cloud storage environments by delivering 16 Gbps Fibre Channel technology and capabilities that support highly virtualized environments. Our new switch delivers 16 Gbps performance with up to 48 ports in an energy-efficient, 1U form factor, providing great flexibility for diverse deployment and cooling strategies. </li><li><a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/storage/san/b-type/na/index.html">IBM® Network Advisor V11</a> is a software management platform that unifies network management for storage area networks (SAN) and converged networks. It is designed to provide a consistent user interface across Fibre Channel and FCoE over Data Center Bridging (DCB), along with custom views and controls based on the users' areas of specialization.
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<div>&nbsp;</div><p align="”left”"> Our clients continue to have significant needs for Fibre Channel SANs, and according to Dell'Oro Group, SAN switch market revenues are expected to reach $2.5B in 2011, increasing to $4.7B by 2015.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
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<p align="”left”"> These new products will be available in August, 2011. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.ibm.com/systems/networking/">www.ibm.com/networking</a> </p>
IBM Introduces High-Performance Storage Area Networking for Cloud and Virtualized Data Centers
IBM System Networking offers a wide portfolio of smarter networking solutions for next-generation data center solutions, including Ethernet and Fibre...002991urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-3ef33fbe-ef29-49e8-b7c9-5c988e6ce98dSystem Networking Brings Speed and Intelligence to the Data Center Fabric2013-06-08T21:04:39-04:00